Brian Boyle knows what it’s like to die. At the age of 18, a car accident shattered his ribs and pelvis, collapsed his lungs, lacerated several organs and caused him to lose 60 percent of his blood. He underwent 14 surgeries, eight resuscitations and 36 blood transfusions. Doctors doubted he’d have a future if he survived at all. “I was giving up, I was saying my prayers,” says Boyle, now 31.
Now, Boyle knows what it’s like to live. He’s completed five Ironman triathlons, 16 marathons, two ultramarathons and, in the past year alone, five obstacle course races, or events like the Warrior Dash, Tough Mudder and Spartan Race, that send participants on miles-long chases through mud, under barbed wire, over fire and more.
“I always hear, ‘Why would you put yourself through that?’ especially given my medical history,” says Boyle, who’s from Welcome, Maryland, and works for the Red Cross. “For me, it comes down to having those goals in life and having those challenges and making them opportunities for growth.”
Boyle is in good company. Three million people have participated in a Warrior Dash since its first race in 2009. Red Frog Events, the company that puts on the races, will host 25 Warrior Dashes this year alone, says Molly Chernick, a lead event director in Chicago who calls the race “a 5K reinvented.” “Running as a sport, as an industry, has been around for awhile,” she says. “This is a new twist; a new way to challenge yourself. It involves your whole body.”
Spartan, another obstacle course racing company, held five races in 2010, 31 in 2013 and will host more than 200 worldwide this year. Such rapid growth, says Joe DiStefano, Spartan’s director of sport and training, is due to the innate desire to act like a kid by jumping, climbing, throwing and getting very, very dirty, as well as the rare opportunity to be truly present in our modern world.
[See: 10 Fun Kid Activities for Adult Bodies and Minds.]
“You can be not present when you’re sitting in a meeting and you’re texting on your phone and you’re on social media, but when you’re crawling under a barbed wire with a thorn in your butt and you’re about to throw a spear, you’re very in-the-moment, which is pretty meditative for people,” he says. “When they cross the finish line, they can’t put their finger on it, but they know that that was a different experience.”
Part of what makes it different, too, is the camaraderie, participants and organizers say. Unlike, say, a marathon in which how well you do is up to you, obstacle course racers typically find ways to conquer the barriers with the physical and emotional support of those around them.
Rob Glick, senior director of group fitness at Life Time, which recently partnered with Spartan to offer a group fitness class called Spartan Strong, experienced that partnership firsthand. While facing an obstacle that required racers to lift a big weight with a pully, a nearby racer he didn’t know proposed that they help each other. “You do it twice, but you’ve got twice the body weight to do it,” Glick says. “You just don’t experience that in other kinds of events.”
For Christina LaGrega, a group fitness instructor at Life Time Athletic outside of New York City who’s led dozens of women through Spartan races, the sport is a welcome contrast to typical fitness classes that focus on how the body looks rather than what it can do. A picture of one of her clients with her fist in the air at the top of a Spartan obstacle says it all, according to LaGrega.
“You see the drive and the fire in her eyes,” she says. “When we crossed the finish line, her entire life changed — her mentality changed and her self-confidence and self-love changed.”
Still, such a sense of empowerment isn’t without risks. The Spartan Race’s participant waiver, for example, states that “the risk of serious injury and/or death … is signficant,” and warns that sprains, burns, hypothermia, animal bites, contact with poisonous plants and paralysis are all possible.
“Most of the injuries I see occur because of poor planning and preparation,” says Dr. Ernest Brown, founder of the house call service Doctors to You who has provided medical services on standby for over a dozen obstacle course racing events. Strains, breaks and muscle tears are particularly likely among people who haven’t properly stretched, he says.
[See: 7 Signs You Should Stop Exercising Immediately.]
Still, the fear of getting hurt isn’t a good enough reason to write off obstacle course racing, according to LaGrega. “You can walk outside and you could slip on a step. You could be walking in your house and stub your toe,” she says. “Do you want to live in a box or venture outside of the box and really take on all the world has to offer?”
For Boyle, the answer is a resounding yes. “Why not? It’s fun, it’s a great way to get in shape, it’s a great way of having goals,” he says. Tempted? Consider these pro tips before signing up:
1. Weigh your options.
Not all obstacle course races are the same. The Warrior Dash, for instance, includes 12 obstacles over 5 kilometers, so it’s a good one for beginners. “We pride ourselves on being a race everyone can finish,” Chernick says. Spartan, on the other hand, has a range of distances and levels of difficulty — from its 3-mile “Sprint” to the “Ultra Beast,” a course that’s more than 26 miles and includes more than 60 obstacles. “There’s always somewhere to go,” DiStefano says.
2. Train your body.
While most obstacle course race spokespeople say their events are for everyone and anyone, there are ways you can make them easier on yourself: namely, by practicing bodyweight movements like planks, squats, pullups, pushups and burpees, and by boosting your endurance by being more active in daily life, DiStefano says. “If you create a body that’s athletic and versatile, it will afford you the best opportunity to succeed.” Brown recommends stretching thoroughly and sleeping well the week prior to the race, and hydrating more and eating more carbohydrates those final 24 hours. “This will prep your body for the fluid and energy reserves you will need to perform and recover,” he says.
3. Pack your bag.
If you’re doing a shorter distance, don’t bother bringing your own water since the race will supply it and added baggage can get in the way of obstacles, Glick says. Longer distances may require water and fuel, and all of them call for clothing and shoes you can move and get dirty in. Look on the race websites for specific tips about what to bring. The Warrior Dash, for one, collects shoes at the end to donate.
[See: 7 Pieces of Workout Gear to Ditch or Replace.]
4. Prepare your mind.
Racers and organizers agree: The real challenge — and appeal — of obstacle course racing is mental. “We’re not putting a 7-foot wall in front of you because we want to know if you can climb a 7-foot wall; we want to know if you can conquer something you weren’t expecting,” DiStefano says. Chances are, you will, says LaGrega, who’s completed races with 500 teammates in total. “Never once,” she says, “have people said they regretted it.”
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Should You Try Obstacle Course Racing? originally appeared on usnews.com
